Terminal device, infrastructure equipment, wireless telecommunications network, methods and intergrated circuitry

ABSTRACT

A terminal device for use with a wireless telecommunications network, the terminal device including a transceiver; and a controller configured to control the transceiver to exchange data with the wireless telecommunications network using one of a first communications service and a second communications service, the first communications service being associated with a first quality of service for exchanging data and the second communications service being associated with a second quality of service for exchanging data. The controller is configured to control the transceiver to establish one of a first set of radio connection states with the wireless telecommunications network and one of a second set of radio connection states with the wireless telecommunications network, and control the transceiver to establish the radio connection state of the first communications service independently of the radio connection state of the second communications service.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a terminal device, infrastructureequipment, wireless telecommunications network, methods and integratedcircuitry.

The present disclosure claims the Paris convention priority of Europeanpatent application 16163493.6 the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent it is described in thebackground section, as well as aspects of the description which may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentinvention.

With current mobile telecommunications systems, such as those based onthe 3GPP defined Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UNITS) orLong Term Evolution (LTE) architecture, the requirements for differenttypes of scenario, service and use-case can differ significantly. Forexample, higher bitrate services such as those required for enhancedMobile BroadBand (eMBB) typically require wider channel bandwidth, whilelower bitrate services operate more efficiently within a narrowerbandwidth. Furthermore, constant data transfer typically requires anongoing connection with the network and tight mobility requirements inorder to provide higher data rate and faster latency, while morespurious data with extended periods of inactivity typically means thatthe UE enters a discontinuous reception (DRX) state or an idle state inorder to conserve power. However transitions between such states resultsin an additional signalling overhead. Such an issue has been recognisedin the approved work item [1] which aims to reduce this signallingoverhead by enabling a connected mode which uses UE-centric mobility(cell reselection). Typically, however, there is always a trade-offbetween latency, throughput, and power consumption, meaning there is noone approach that is suitable for all types of service. Devicessupporting multiple services may therefore need to use variousapproaches.

There is thus a need to manage the different approaches required foreach service supported by a particular device, each service having itsown characteristics and requirements. This is particularly the case forupcoming 5^(th) generation (5G) mobile telecommunications systems [2]which are expected to support a wider variety of services than currentmobile telecommunications systems such as LTE.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one embodiment, the present technique provides a terminal device foruse with a wireless telecommunications network, the terminal devicecomprising: a transceiver; and a controller configured to control thetransceiver to exchange data with the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork using one of a first communications service and a secondcommunications service, the first communications service beingassociated with a first quality of service for exchanging data and thesecond communications service being associated with a second quality ofservice for exchanging data; wherein the controller is configured tocontrol the transceiver to establish one of a first set of radioconnection states with the wireless telecommunications network, eachradio connection state of the first set of radio connection statesdefining a mode of the first communications service comprising one ormore of transmitting data to, receiving data from or managing anattachment of the terminal device to the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork in accordance with the first quality of service; and thecontroller is configured to control the transceiver to establish one ofa second set of radio connection states with the wirelesstelecommunications network, each radio connection state of the secondset of radio connection states defining a mode of the secondcommunications service comprising one or more of transmitting data to,receiving data from or managing an attachment of the terminal device tothe wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the secondquality of service: wherein the controller is configured to control thetransceiver to establish the radio connection state of the firstcommunications service independently of the radio connection state ofthe second communications service.

In another embodiment, the present technique provides infrastructureequipment for use with a wireless telecommunications network, theinfrastructure equipment comprising: a transceiver; and a controllerconfigured to control the transceiver to exchange data with a terminaldevice of the wireless telecommunications network using one of a firstcommunications service and a second communications service, the firstcommunications service being associated with a first quality of servicefor exchanging data and the second communications service beingassociated with a second quality of service for exchanging data; whereinthe controller is configured to control the transceiver to establish oneof a first set of radio connection states with the terminal device, eachradio connection state of the first set of radio connection statesdefining a mode of the first communications service comprising one ormore of transmitting data to the terminal device, receiving data fromthe terminal device or managing an attachment of the terminal device tothe wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the firstquality of service; and the controller is configured to control thetransceiver to establish one of a second set of radio connection stateswith the terminal device, each radio connection state of the second setof radio connection states defining a mode of the second communicationsservice comprising one or more of transmitting data to the terminaldevice, receiving data from the terminal device or managing anattachment of the terminal device to the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork in accordance with the second quality of service; wherein thecontroller is configured to control the transceiver to establish theradio connection state of the first communications service independentlyof the radio connection state of the second communications service.

In another embodiment, the present technique provides a wirelesstelecommunications network comprising: a terminal device; a plurality ofnetwork nodes each configured to exchange data with the terminal device;and a controller configured to control one or more of the network nodesto exchange data with the terminal device using one of a firstcommunications service and a second communications service, the firstcommunications service being associated with a first quality of servicefor exchanging data and the second communications service beingassociated with a second quality of service for exchanging data; whereinthe controller is configured to control a first one of the one or morenetwork nodes to establish one of a first set of radio connection stateswith the terminal device, each radio correction state of the first setof radio connection states defining a mode of the first communicationsservice comprising one or more of transmitting data to the terminaldevice, receiving data from the terminal device or managing anattachment of the terminal device to the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork in accordance with the first quality of service; and thecontroller is configured to control a second one of the one or morenetwork nodes to establish one of a second set of radio connectionstates with the. terminal device, each radio connection state of thesecond set of radio connection states defining a mode of the secondcommunications service comprising one or more of transmitting data tothe terminal device, receiving data from the terminal device or managingan attachment of the terminal device to the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork in accordance with the second quality of service; wherein thecontroller is configured to control the first network node to establishthe radio connection state of the first communications serviceindependently of the establishment of the radio connection state of thesecond communications service by the second network node.

The foregoing paragraphs have been provided by way of generalintroduction, and are not intended to limit the scope of the followingclaims. The described embodiments, together with further advantages,will be best understood by reference to the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way ofexample only with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein likeparts are provided with corresponding reference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 provides a schematic diagram illustrating some basicfunctionality of a mobile telecommunications network/system:

FIG. 2 provides an example schematic block diagram of a terminal deviceand infrastructure equipment;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates three separate communications servicesvia which data is exchanged between the terminal device andinfrastructure equipment, according to an embodiment of the presenttechnique; and

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart schematically illustrating a process accordingto an embodiment of the present technique.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 provides a schematic diagram illustrating some basicfunctionality of a mobile telecommunications network/system 100 whichmay be adapted to implement embodiments of the disclosure as describedfurther below. Various elements of FIG. 1 and their respective modes ofoperation are well-known and defined in the relevant standardsadministered by the 3GPP® body, and also described in many books on thesubject, for example, Holma H. and Toskala A [3]. It will be appreciatedthat operational aspects of the telecommunications network which are notspecifically described below may be implemented in accordance with anyknown techniques, for example according to the relevant standards.

The network 100 includes a plurality of base stations 101 connected to acore network 102. A base station 101 is an example of a network nodewhich provides a coverage area 103 (i.e. a cell) within which data canbe communicated to and from communications devices 104. Data istransmitted from base stations 101 to communications devices 104 withintheir respective coverage areas 103 via a radio downlink. Data istransmitted from communications devices 104 to the base stations 101 viaa radio uplink. The uplink and downlink communications are made usingtime and/or frequency radio resources that are licenced for exclusiveuse by the operator of the network 100. The core network 102 routes datato and from the communications devices 104 via the respective basestations 101 and provides functions such as authentication, mobilitymanagement, charging and so on. Such functions of the core network areprovided by the controller 105. A communications device may also bereferred to as a mobile station, user equipment (UE), user device,mobile radio, terminal device and so forth. A base station may also bereferred to as a transceiver station, infrastructure equipment and soforth.

FIG. 2 provides an example schematic block diagram of a terminal deviceor UE. 104 and a infrastructure equipment or base station 101. As shownin FIG. 2, the UE 104 includes a transmitter 401 and a receiver 402(which together form a transceiver) which are controlled by a controller403. Correspondingly, the base station 101 includes a transmitter 411and a receiver 412 (which together form a transceiver) which arecontrolled by a controller 413 (which can also implement a schedulerfunction). As explained above, the UE 104 transmits and receives signalsto and from the base station 101 via a wireless access interfaceprovided by the base station as part of the wireless communicationsnetwork.

In an embodiment of the present technique, instead of radio connectionstates (each radio connection state being defined, for example, by oneor more of a radio resource connection (RRC) state, a set ofdiscontinuous reception (DRX) parameters, a terminal device mobilityhandling arrangement, and a control signalling procedure for one or moreof establishing a radio connection with the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork, exchanging data with the wireless telecommunications networkand handling a transition to a different radio connection state) beingselected on a terminal device basis (as occurs with LTE, for example),each radio connection state is selected on a communications servicebasis. This enables different handling of different communicationsservices on a single terminal device. Each communications service(service) may be a bearer service, for example. In an embodiment, someservices may be set up as “connectionless” or “idle mode” services inorder to transmit small data directly from an idle mode (this beingsimilar to the control plane (C-plane) solution for LTE NarrowBandInternet of Things (NB-IoT), for example), while other services arehigher rate “connected mode” services used for a more typical packetswitched service (similar to a regular LTE service, for example).Furthermore, connected mode services may consider separate inactivitytimers to transition. respectively, to a semi-idle or idle stateindividually (similar to RRC suspend/resume in LTE Rel-13 or “lightconnection” in LTE Rel-14, for example). Mobility may also be handledseparately per service rather than per device. Thus, for example, someservices may involve automatic reselection to the best usable cell viaan operation carried out by the UE, while others services may involveusing network controlled handover.

In an embodiment, different services may be associated with differentcells or, more generally, different network nodes (a network node being,for example, a base station or relay node) or different network slices(a network slice being a logical collection of network functions forsupporting a particular service with particular requirements).

Thus, a terminal device is no longer considered to be in a particularradio connection state (such as connected or idle mode, for example),but rather, handling of radio connection states is carried out perservice. It is thus possible to have separate services in a single HE,each service being associated with a separate sets of one or more radioconnection states. In an embodiment, each service may even be served bya different radio access technology (RAT) (for example, one service mayuse LTE, another service may use 5G and another service may use NB-IoTsimultaneously in a single terminal device) or by a different networkslice within the same RAT.

In an embodiment, connected mode type services might rely on a commoncontrol plane being connected (via an RRC connection) in order tofunction correctly. In this case, an implicit release of all connectedmode services may take place upon releasing the common control plane,while idle mode type services work independently of whether there is aconnection for the common control plane. Multiple control planes maystill be set up, however, in order to support a specific user-planeservice.

In an embodiment, the possible radio connection states for each servicemay resemble a state machine for each service. For example, the statemachine may be similar to that for a UE in UMTS or LTE. So, the possibleradio connection states for a particular service would include multipledifferent RRC states, including at least an idle and a connected state,and potentially one or more intermediate (semi-connected or semi-idle)states. In the context of the present technique, a connected radioconnection state is a state in which a radio resource control (RRC)connection is established with the network and the terminal devicemobility handling arrangement comprises using a network node handoveroperation carried out by the network. An idle radio connection state isa state in which no RRC connection is established with the network andthe terminal device mobility handling arrangement comprises using anetwork node reselection operation. A semi-connected (or semi-idle)radio connection state is a state in which an RRC connection isestablished with the network, but the terminal device mobility handlingarrangement comprises using a network node reselection operation.

In an embodiment, three main types of service are considered. These are:

1) High Data Rate 1 Throughput or Ultra Reliable/Low Latency Service

This is similar to, for example, a regular LTE service, such as internetdata transfer, video streaming or voice call. This type of servicerequires a continuous connection (for example, a continues RRCconnection) and continuous/near-continuous transfer of data between theUE and network. It may also require very low latency and/or highreliability. Examples of such services include mission criticalservices, industrial automation or remote surgery.

2) Infrequent Small Data

This is similar to, for example, an Internet of Things (IoT) type ofapplication, whereby small amounts of data are transferred infrequently,with the time between transmissions in the order or minutes, hours, ordays. This type of service is appropriate for smart electricity or gasmeters, for example, and may operate via a NB-IoT or similar radioaccess technology.

3) Regular Small/Intermediate Data

An example of this type of service is web browsing or use of a connectedmobile application such as Facebook®. In this case, the amount of datatransferred is relatively small compared to downloading a large file orstreaming video (as in (1)) however this occurs relatively frequentlycompared to IoT applications as in (2)).

It will thus be appreciated that of the three main types of service, (1)has the highest rate of data transfer, followed by (3) with the nexthighest rate of data transfer, following by (2) with the lowest rate ofdata transfer.

Each of the above service types have been shown to operate moreefficiently using different RRC state, DRX, and mobility handling.

In an embodiment, for providing a service with the characteristics of(1), an arrangement similar to that of, for example, LTE Release-8 maybe used. The UE is either idle or connected, and while connected,mobility is controlled by the network in order to provide servicecontinuity and to minimise interruption on handover, and latency isrelatively fast when new data is sent or received. The DRX parametersare set so that the DRX cycle is relatively short, and inactivity timesare set such that the UT is able to react fairly quickly. For ultra-lowlatency, it is possible there will be a trade-off in DRX settings inorder to prioritise latency over power consumption. The UE will remainconnected (via an RRC connection, for example) until release or untilthe service has ended. Using the above-mentioned terminology, it willthus be appreciated that a radio connection state for providing service(1) may be selected from a set of radio connection states comprising aconcocted radio connection state and an idle radio connection state.

In an embodiment, for providing a service with the characteristics of(3), an arrangement similar to that of, for example, UMTS (in whichthere are intermediate states between idle and connected states, thesebeing CELL_PCH and CELL_FACH) or that described in [1] (relating to LTERelease-14) may be used. Here, it is expected that the UE will be ableto transition to an intermediate state in which the UE remains connected(via an RRC connection, for example) but uses UT based mobility (ratherthan network controlled handover). This reduces the signalling fortransitioning between idle and connected modes (since there are nowmultiple steps between idle mode and connected mode which do not requirea change in the mobility management of the UE) and also allows morepower to be saved. There is a latency trade-off, and it is lessresponsive than staying fully connected (as in (1)). However there is animprovement compared to frequent changing between idle and connectedmode. Using the above-mentioned terminology, it will thus be appreciatedthat a radio connection state for providing service (3) may be selectedfrom a set of radio connection states comprising a semi-connected radioconnection state.

In an embodiment, for providing a service with the characteristics of(2), an arrangement similar to that of, for example, NB-IoT may be used.In this case, a UE in idle mode is able to transmit small amounts ofdata directly on uplink shared/common channels without having to befully connected (that is, for example, an RRC connection is not requiredfor transmission of these small amounts of data). This reduces powerconsumption and signalling. However, it has the longest latency. Usingthe above-mentioned terminology, it will thus be appreciated that aradio connection state for providing service (2) may be selected from aset of radio connection states comprising an idle radio connectionstate.

To be clear, each of these services may be provided simultaneously to asingle terminal device, as has been described above. Multiple ones ofthe arrangements described above may therefore be implemented by asingle terminal device simultaneously so as to allow the terminal deviceto efficiently manage the exchange of data between the terminal deviceand network for each different type of service. Such an arrangement,according to an embodiment, is illustrated in FIG. 3, whichschematically illustrates the three separate communications services(service (1), service (2) and service (3)) via which data is exchangedbetween the UE 104 and base station 101 and certain characteristicsassociated with the radio connection state used for providing thoseservices. In particular, for service (1) (for providing a video stream,for example), the current radio connection state is a connected radioconnection state (with an RRC connection established and mobilityhandled by network handover), for service (2) (for providing an IoTservice, for example), the current radio connection state is an idleradio connection state (with no RRC connection and mobility handled bycell reselection), and for service (3) (for providing Facebook® updates,for example), the current radio connection state is a semi-connectedradio connection state (with an RRC connection established and mobilityhandled by cell reselection).

In more detail, in an embodiment, each of one or more types of serviceis respectively associated with one or more sets of radio connectionstates. Each set of radio connection states comprises one or more radioconnection states, and each radio connection state is defined forexample, by one or more of a radio resource connection (RRC) state, aset of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters, a terminal devicemobility handling arrangement, and a control signalling procedure forone or more of establishing a radio connection with the wirelesstelecommunications network, exchanging data with the wirelesstelecommunications network and handling a transition to a differentradio connection state. The radio connection state is determined foreach service individually in a single terminal device.

If, for example, an IoT service (2) is set up, then, once established,this operates in an idle (or “stateless”) mode regardless of the stateof any other services supported by the UE. So, for example, a UE mightbe connected (via an RRC connection, for example) for exchanging datawith the network using other services, or might be idle with respect tothese other service, but the IoT service will nonetheless allow the UEto transmit data to the network without performing any additionalconnection establishment (such as establishment of an RRC connection,for example). The service would, by default, automatically select thebest cell according to idle mode reselection rules (these may includeinteraction with other services—this is described later on). This mayoperate in a similar manner to C-plane optimisation for NB-IoT, forexample. That is to say, the service would operate such that the UE isable to directly transmit data from idle mode, without performing a fullconnection establishment and authentication/ciphering (security) setup(in this case, any security would be performed at the upper layers ofradio access configuration).

If, for example, a streaming or download type service (1) is set up,then this will be independently connected or released, regardless of thestate of other services used by the UE. With respect to this service(1), measurements and measurement reporting according to a connectedmode method may be set up, and handover performed as per a connectedmode.

If, for example, a regular small data service (3) is set up, then theset of radio connection states will be based on the intermediate statebehaviour. For example, the set of radio connection states associatedwith this service may allow the UE may be connected (via an RRCconnection, for example) for short time periods, whilst at times ofinactivity, the UE will perform DRX with a longer DRX cycle and will usecell reselection (rather than network controlled handover) so as toreduce network signalling and UE power consumption.

In one embodiment, the UE will handle all services totallyindependently. However, in another embodiment, efficiency may beimproved by allowing some level of interaction between services.

For example, if there is control-plane (C-plane) and user-plane(U-plane) separation, then it may be beneficial to have a common C-planewhich handles the setup and establishes a single connection (such as anRRC connection, for example) between the UE and network for use by allservices having one or more radio connection states requiring aconnection to the network. Thus, once a C-plane connection has been setup for one service, then this may be used for subsequent U-planeservices requiring a connection to the network. In an embodiment, uponrelease of the common C-plane connection, all connected mode U-planeconnections established via the common C-plane are released. Also, in anembodiment, upon release of the last remaining U-plane connection, theC-plane connection is released.

In an embodiment, in order to manage UE mobility, services that areconfigured to operate in idle mode with. UE based mobility(reselection), may use the same serving cell that has been configuredfor a connected mode service. In this case, the cell reselection may,for example, use the same serving cell as a connected mode service whenthe UE is connected to the network to use such a service, but the UE maythen switch to an autonomous reselection mode if there are no connectedmode services. It is also possible for each service to be totallyindependent in terms of HE mobility. In this case, the UE and/or networkmay select amongst an independent set of cells or network slices foreach service. It is also envisaged that mobility may be simplified, forexample, by using an uplink measurement based scheme such as thatdescribed in the applicant's European patent application EP 15173562.8.In such a scheme, the UE transmits a beacon signal to the network, andthe network is configured to perform a network node reselectionoperation in accordance with a measured characteristic of the beaconsignal (such as signal strength or signal quality) indicative of radiochannel conditions between the terminal device and one or more networknodes of the network. When used in combination with the presenttechnique, the mobility can be handled entirely by the network. Inparticular, such a scheme allows the network to select the serving cellindependently for each service, and thus, at the UE side, only thebearer handling for each service (for example, connected/idle, securitystate channel configurations) needs to be separately managed.

In an embodiment, the UE is provided with one or more DRX configurations(each defined by a set of DRX parameters) associated with eachrespective one of the one or more services, and the DRX configuration inuse depends on the active services and/or the current radio connectionstate of each active service. If the UE comprises only a singletransceiver, then some inter-dependency may be necessary in order toensure that the chosen DRX configuration is suitable for all activeservices. For example, it may be the case that the DRX configuration ofthe active service with the shortest length DRX cycle is always used,thus helping to ensure that the ability of higher data rate activeservice to exchange data are is not compromised. This is because, if ahigher data rate service (such as service (1)) is active, then it islikely that a longer DRX cycle associated with a lower data rate service(such as service (2) or (3)) which is also active is not suitable forthe required data exchange rate of the higher data rate service. Uponrelease of the higher data rater service, however, the UE may start touse a DRX configuration with a longer DRX cycle associated with the nexthighest data rate active service in order to save power. In anembodiment, the DRX configuration used at any one time may be optimiseddepending on the various DRX parameters of each active service and/orradio connection state of each active service. As a specific example, alonger DRX cycle activated after a period of inactivity of service type(1) might be longer than the DRX length associated with a type (3)service. In this case, the UE might use the service type (3) DRX (sothat service type (3) may continue to exchange data successfully).Alternatively, the UE might apply DRX settings associated with servicetype (1) until service type (1) is released, and then revert to anotherconfiguration for an ongoing type (3) service. In other words, the UEselects between multiple DRX configurations depending on the activeservices and/or the radio connection state of each active service. In anembodiment.

It will be appreciated that, in the above-described embodiments,whenever it is said that the UE transmits or receives data or signals,it is actually the transceiver 401, 402 of the UE 104 which transmits orreceives the data or signals, under the control of the controller 403.Similarly, whenever it is said that the network transmits or receivesdata or signals, it is actually, a transceiver of a network node (suchas the transceiver 411, 412 of base station 101) which transmits orreceives the data or signals, under the control of one or more of acontroller of the network node (such as controller 413 of base station101) or the core network controller 105. Furthermore, it will beappreciated that any other described operation said to be carried out bythe UE or network is, in reality, carried out by one or more ofcontroller 403 of the UE 104, a controller of a network node (such ascontroller 413 of base station 101) and core network controller 105.

It will thus be appreciated that the present technique provides aterminal device or UE 104 for use with a wireless telecommunicationsnetwork 100. The terminal device comprises a transceiver 401, 402 and acontroller 403. The controller is configured to control the transceiverto exchange data with the wireless telecommunications network using oneof a first communications service and a second communications service.Each of the first and second communication services may be one of theabove-described services types (1), (2) or (3), for example. Moregenerally, the first communications service is associated with a firstquality of service for exchanging data with the wirelesstelecommunications network and the second communications service isassociated with a second quality of service for exchanging data with thewireless telecommunications service. It will be appreciated that theterm quality of service (for example, Quality of Service (QoS) in LTE)relates generally to the type of data exchange that takes place and therequired communication characteristics that allow that type of dataexchange to take place successfully. Quality of service may take intoaccount communication characteristics such as error rates, bit rate,throughput, transmission delay, availability and jitter, for example. Ingeneral, for higher data exchange rates (such as service (1), describedabove), a higher quality of service will be required, whereas for lowerexchange rates (such as service (2)), a lower quality of service will berequired.

The controller is configured to control the transceiver to establish oneof a first set of radio connection states with the wirelesstelecommunications network, each radio connection state of the first setof radio connection states defining a mode of the first communicationsservice comprising one or more of transmitting data to, receiving datafrom or managing an attachment of the terminal device to the wirelesstelecommunications network in accordance with the first quality ofservice. The controller is also configured to control the transceiver toestablish one of a second set of radio connection states with thewireless telecommunications network, each radio connection state of thesecond set of radio connection states defining a mode of the secondcommunications service comprising one or more of transmitting data to,receiving data from or managing an attachment of the terminal device tothe wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the secondquality of service. The controller is configured to control thetransceiver to establish the radio connection state of the firstcommunications service independently of the radio connection state ofthe second communications service. As has been explained, this allowsthe respective radio connection state of each service simultaneouslyused by a UE to be chosen independently.

In an embodiment, each radio connection state in the first set of radioconnection states is associated with one or more of a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters,a terminal device mobility handling arrangement, and a controlsignalling procedure for one or more of establishing a radio connectionwith the wireless telecommunications network, exchanging data with thewireless telecommunications network and handling a transition to adifferent radio connection state. These are determined in accordancewith the first quality of service (that is, so that the communicationcharacteristics meet those required for the first quality of service).Furthermore, each radio connection state in the second set of radioconnection states is associated with one or more of a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters,a terminal device mobility handling arrangement, and a controlsignalling procedure for one or more of establishing a radio connectionwith the wireless telecommunications network, exchanging data with thewireless telecommunications network and handling a transition to adifferent radio connection state. These are determined in accordancewith the second quality of service (that is, so that the communicationcharacteristics meet those required for the second quality of service)

In an embodiment, each radio connection state in the first and secondsets of radio connection states is one of a connected radio connectionstate, an idle radio connection state and a semi-connected radioconnection state. A connected radio connection state is a state in whicha radio resource control (RRC) connection is established with thewireless telecommunications network and the terminal device mobilityhandling arrangement comprises using a network node handover operationcarried out by the wireless telecommunications network. An idle radioconnection state is a state in which no RRC connection is establishedwith the wireless telecommunications network and the terminal devicemobility handling arrangement comprises using a network node reselectionoperation. A semi-connected radio connection state is a state in whichan RRC connection is established with the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork and the terminal device mobility handling arrangement comprisesusing a network node reselection operation.

In an embodiment, the network node reselection operation of one or moreof the idle radio connection state and semi-connected radio connectionstate is carried out by the controller 403. In another embodiment, thecontroller 403 is configured to control the transceiver 401, 402 totransmit a beacon signal to the wireless telecommunications network, andthe wireless telecommunications network is configured to perform thenetwork node reselection operation of one or more of the idle radioconnection state and semi-connected radio connection state in accordancewith a measured characteristic of the beacon signal indicative of radiochannel conditions between the terminal device and one or more networknodes of the wireless telecommunications network. The measuredcharacteristic of the beacon signal may be signal strength or signalquality, for example.

In an embodiment, each of the first and second sets of radio connectionstates comprises one of a connected radio connection state and asemi-connected radio connection state, and the controller 403 isconfigured to control the transceiver to establish a common controlplane with the wireless. telecommunications network for controlling boththe one of the connected or semi-connected radio connection state of thefirst set of radio connection states and the one of the connected orsemi-connected radio connection state of the second set of radioconnection states.

In an embodiment, the first set of radio connection states comprises aconnected radio connection state and the second set of radio connectionstates comprises one of a semi-connected or idle radio connection state.The controller 403 is configured to select, as a serving network nodefor the one of the semi-connected or idle radio connection state of thesecond set of radio connection states, the serving network node of theconnected radio connection state of the first set of radio connectionstates.

In an embodiment, when an idle radio connection state is established asthe one of the first or second sets of radio connection states, thecontroller 403 is configured to control the transceiver 401, 402 totransmit data to the wireless telecommunications network in the idleradio connection state without establishing an RRC connection.

In an embodiment, one or more of the radio connection states in thefirst set of radio connection states is associated with a first set ofDRX parameters in accordance with the first chirality of service (thatis, so that the communication characteristics meet those required forthe first quality of service). Also, one or more of the radio connectionstates in the second set of radio connection states is associated with asecond set of DRX parameters in accordance with the second quality ofservice (that is, so that the communication characteristics meet thoserequired for the second quality of service). The controller 403 thencontrols the transceiver 401, 402 to operate, in combination with thecontroller, using the one of the first and second sets of DRX parametersassociated with the shortest DRX cycle duration.

In an embodiment, the controller 403 is configured to control thetransceiver 401, 402 to exchange data with the wirelesstelecommunications network using the first communications service usinga first portion of network resources associated with a first radioaccess technology (RAT) and to exchange data with the wirelesstelecommunications network using the second communications service usinga second portion of network resources associated with a second radioaccess technology (RAT). The network resources in the first portion maycomprise one or more of a network node and a network slice associatedwith the first RAT. Similarly, the network resources in the secondportion may comprise one or more of a network node and a network sliceassociated with the second RAT. As previously described, a network sliceis a logical collection of network functions for supporting a particularservice with particular requirements. More information about networkslices may be found in [4], for example. The first and second RATs maybe the same RAT, or they may be different.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart schematically illustrating a process accordingto an embodiment of the present technique. The process starts at step400. At steps 402 and 404, the terminal device 104 exchanges data withthe network 100 using a first communications service and a secondcommunications service, the first communications service beingassociated with a first quality of service for exchanging data and thesecond communications service being associated with a second quality ofservice for exchanging data. In particular, at step 402, the terminaldevice 104 establishes one of a first set of radio connection stateswith the network 100, each radio connection state of the first set ofradio connection states defining a mode of the first communicationsservice comprising one or more of transmitting data to, receiving datafrom or managing an attachment of the terminal device to the network inaccordance with the first quality of service. Furthermore, at step 404,the terminal device 104 establishes, independently of the establishmentof the one of the first set of radio connection states, one of a secondset of radio connection states with the network 100, each radioconnection state of the second set of radio connection states defining amode of the second communications service comprising one or more oftransmitting data to, receiving data from or managing an attachment ofthe terminal device to the network in accordance with the second qualityof service. The process then ends at step 406.

Thus, it will be appreciated that the present technique allowsindependent handling of different services within the same UE. Inparticular, it allows a single UE to be simultaneously connected tocompletely different parts of the network (for example, the UE may beconnected to an IoT slice of the network to use an IoT service whilst,at the same time, connected, via a different path, to an eMBB networkslice to use an eMBB service) and separates the concept of acommunications service from that of a device. The present technique thusallows more optimal configuration of a terminal device depending on aplurality of active services in a simple way.

Various features of embodiments of the present technique are defined bythe following numbered clauses:

1. A terminal device for use with a wireless telecommunications network,the terminal device comprising:

-   -   a transceiver; and    -   a controller configured to control the transceiver to exchange        data with the wireless telecommunications network using one of a        first communications service and a second communications        service, the first communications service being associated with        a first quality of service for exchanging data and the second        communications service being associated with a second quality of        service for exchanging data; wherein    -   the controller is configured to control the transceiver to        establish one of a first set of radio connection states with the        wireless telecommunications network, each radio connection.        state of the first set of radio connection states defining a        mode of the first communications service comprising one or more        of transmitting data to, receiving data from or managing an        attachment of the terminal device to the wireless        telecommunications network in accordance with the first quality        of service; and    -   the controller is configured to control the transceiver to        establish one of a second set of radio connection states with        the wireless telecommunications network, each radio connection        state of the second set of radio connection states defining a        mode of the second communications service comprising one or more        of transmitting data to, receiving data from or managing an        attachment of the terminal device to the wireless        telecommunications network in accordance with the second quality        of service;        wherein the controller is configured to control the transceiver        to establish the radio connection state of the first        communications service independently of the radio connection        state of the second communications service.

2. A terminal device according to clause 1, wherein

-   -   each radio connection state in the first set of radio connection        states is associated with one or more of a radio resource        control (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception (DRX)        parameters, a terminal device mobility handling arrangement, and        a control signalling procedure for one or more of establishing a        radio connection with the wireless telecommunications network,        exchanging data with the wireless telecommunications network and        handling a transition to a different radio connection state, in        accordance with the first quality of service; and    -   each radio connection state in the second set of radio        connection states is associated with one or more of a radio        resource control (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception        (DRX) parameters, a terminal device mobility handling        arrangement, and a control signalling procedure for one or more        of establishing a radio connection with the wireless        telecommunications network, exchanging data with the wireless        telecommunications network and handling a transition to a        different radio connection state, in accordance with the second        quality of service

3. A terminal device according to clause 2, wherein each radioconnection state in the first and second sets of radio connection statesis one of:

-   -   a connected radio connection state in which a radio resource        control (ARC) connection is established with the wireless        telecommunications network and the terminal device mobility        handling arrangement comprises using a network node handover        operation carried out by the wireless telecommunications        network;    -   an idle radio connection state in which no RRC connection is        established with the wireless telecommunications network and the        terminal device mobility handling arrangement comprises using a        network node reselection operation; or    -   a semi-connected radio connection state in which a RRC        connection is established with the wireless telecommunications        network and the terminal device mobility handling arrangement        comprises using a network node reselection operation.

4. A terminal device according to clause 3, wherein the network nodereselection operation of one or more of the idle radio connection stateand semi-connected radio connection state is carried out by thecontroller.

5. A terminal device according to clause 3, wherein the controller isconfigured to control the transceiver to transmit a beacon signal to thewireless telecommunications network, and the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork is configured to perform the network node reselection operationof one or more of the idle radio connection state and semi-connectedradio connection state in accordance with a measured characteristic ofthe beacon signal indicative of radio channel conditions between theterminal device and one or more network nodes of the wirelesstelecommunications network.

6. A terminal device according to any one of clauses 3 to 5, whereineach of the first and second sets of radio connection states comprisesone of a connected radio connection state and a semi-connected radioconnection state, and the controller is configured to control thetransceiver to establish a common control plane with the wirelesstelecommunications network for controlling both the one of the connectedor semi-connected radio connection state of the first set of radioconnection states and the one of the connected or semi-connected radioconnection state of the second set of radio connection states.

7. A terminal device according to any one of clauses 3 to 6, wherein thefirst set of radio connection states comprises a connected radioconnection state and the second set of radio connection states comprisesone of a semi-connected or idle radio connection state, wherein thecontroller is configured to select, as a serving network node for theone of the semi-connected or idle radio connection state of the secondset of radio connection states, the serving network node of theconnected radio connection state of the first set of radio connectionstates.

8. A terminal device according to any one of clauses 3 to 7, wherein,when an idle radio connection state is established as the one of thefirst or second sets of radio connection states, the controller isconfigured to control the transceiver to transmit data to the wirelesstelecommunications network in the idle radio connection state withoutestablishing an RRC connection.

9. A terminal device according to any one of clauses 2 to 8, wherein

-   -   one or more of the radio connection states in the first set of        radio connection states is associated with a first set of DRX        parameters in accordance with the first quality of service;    -   one or more of the radio connection states in the second set of        radio connection states is associated with a second set of DRX        parameters in accordance with the second quality of service; and    -   the controller is operate to control the transceiver to operate,        in combination with the controller, using the one of the first        and second sets of DRX parameters associated with the shortest        DRX cycle duration.

10. A terminal device according to any preceding clause, wherein thecontroller is configured to control the transceiver to exchange datawith the wireless telecommunications network using the firstcommunications service using a first portion of network resourcesassociated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and to exchangedata with the wireless telecommunications network using the secondcommunications service using a second portion of network resourcesassociated with a second radio access technology (RAT).

11. A terminal device according to clause 10, wherein the networkresources in the first portion comprise one or more of a network nodeand a network slice associated with the first RAT and the networkresources in the second portion comprise one or more of a network nodeand a network slice associated with the second RAT.

12. A terminal device according to clause 10 or 11, wherein the firstRAT is different to the second RAT.

13. Infrastructure equipment for use with a wireless telecommunicationsnetwork, the infrastructure equipment comprising:

-   -   a transceiver, and    -   a controller configured to control the transceiver to exchange        data with a terminal device of the wireless telecommunications        network using one of a first communications service and a second        communications service, the first communications service being        associated with a first quality of service for exchanging data,        and the second communications service being associated with a        second quality of service for exchanging data; Wherein    -   the controller is configured to control the transceiver to        establish one of a first set of radio connection states with the        terminal device, each radio connection state of the first set of        radio connection states defining a mode of the first        communications service comprising one or more of transmitting        data to the terminal device, receiving data from the terminal        device or managing an attachment of the terminal device to the        wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the first        quality of service; and    -   the controller is configured to control the transceiver to        establish one of a second set of radio connection states with        the terminal device, each radio connection state of the second        set of radio connection states defining a mode of the second        communications service comprising one or more of transmitting        data to the terminal device, receiving data from the terminal        device or managing an attachment of the terminal device to the        wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the        second quality of service:    -   wherein the controller is configured to control the transceiver        to establish the radio connection state of the first        communications service independently of the radio connection        state of the second communications service.

14. Infrastructure equipment according to clause 13, wherein

-   -   each radio connection state in the first set of radio connection        states is associated with one or more of a radio resource        control (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception (DRX)        parameters, a terminal device mobility handling arrangement, and        a control signalling procedure for one or more of establishing a        radio connection with the terminal device, exchanging data with        the terminal device and handling a transition to a different        radio connection state, in accordance with the first quality of        service; and    -   each radio connection state in the second set of radio        connection states is associated with one or more of a radio        resource control (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception        (DRX) parameters, a terminal device mobility handling        arrangement, and a control signalling procedure for one or more        of establishing a radio connection with the terminal device,        exchanging data with the terminal device and handling a        transition to a different radio connection state, in accordance        with the second quality of service

15. Infrastructure equipment according to clause 14, wherein each radioconnection state in the first and second sets of radio connection statesis one of

-   -   a connected radio connection state in which a radio resource        control (RRC) connection is established with the terminal device        and the terminal device mobility handling arrangement comprises        using a network node handover operation carried out by the        wireless telecommunications network;    -   an idle radio connection state in which no RRC connection is        established with the terminal device and the terminal device        mobility handling arrangement comprises using a network node        reselection operation; or    -   a semi-connected radio connection state in which a RRC        connection is established with the terminal device and the        terminal device mobility handling arrangement comprises using a        network node reselection operation.

16. Infrastructure equipment according to clause 15, wherein the networknode reselection operation of one or more of the idle radio connectionstate and semi-connected radio connection state is carried out by theterminal device.

17. Infrastructure equipment according to clause 15, wherein thecontroller is configured to control the transceiver to receive a beaconsignal from the terminal device, and the controller is configured toperform the network node reselection operation of one or more of theidle radio connection state and semi-connected radio connection state inaccordance with a measured characteristic of the beacon signalindicative of radio channel conditions between the terminal device andthe infrastructure equipment.

18. Infrastructure equipment according to any one of clauses 15 to 17,wherein each of the first and second sets of radio connection statescomprises one of a connected radio connection state and a semi-connectedradio connection state, and the controller is configured to control thetransceiver to establish a common control plane with the terminal devicefor controlling both the one of the connected or semi-connected radioconnection state of the first set of radio connection states and the oneof the connected or semi-connected radio connection state of the secondset of radio connection states.

19. Infrastructure equipment according to any one of clauses 15 to 18,wherein, when an idle. radio connection state is established as the oneof the first or second sets of radio connection states, the controlleris configured to control the transceiver to receive data from thewireless telecommunications network in the idle radio connection statewithout establishing an RRC connection.

20. Infrastructure equipment according to any one of clauses 14 to 19,wherein

-   -   one or more of the radio connection states in the first set of        radio connection states is associated with a first set of DRX        parameters in accordance with the first quality of service;    -   one or more of the radio connection states in the second set of        radio connection states is associated with a second set of DRX        parameters in accordance with the second quality of service; and    -   the controller is operate to control the transceiver to operate,        in combination with the controller, using the one of the first        and second sets of DRX parameters associated with the shortest        DRX cycle duration.

21. Infrastructure equipment according to any one of clauses 13 to 20,wherein the controller is configured to control the transceiver toexchange data with the terminal device using the first communicationsservice using a first portion of network resources associated with afirst radio access technology (RAT) and to exchange data with theterminal device using the second communications service using a secondportion of network resources associated with a second radio accesstechnology (RAT).

22. Infrastructure equipment according to clause 21, wherein the networkresources in the first portion comprise a network slice associated withthe first RAT and the network resources in the second portion comprise anetwork slice associated with the second RAT.

23. Infrastructure equipment according to clause 21 or 22, wherein thefirst RAT is different to the second RAT.

24. A wireless telecommunications network comprising:

-   -   a terminal device.    -   a plurality of network nodes each configured to exchange data        with the terminal device; and    -   a controller configured to control one or more of the network        nodes to exchange data with the terminal device using one of a        first communications service and a second communications        service, the first communications service being associated with        a first quality of service for exchanging data and the second        communications service being associated with a second quality of        service for exchanging data; wherein    -   the controller is configured to control a first one of the one        or more network nodes to establish one of a first set of radio        connection states with the terminal device, each radio        connection state of the first set of radio connection states        defining a mode of the first communications service comprising        one or more of transmitting data to the terminal device,        receiving data from the terminal device or managing an        attachment of the terminal crevice to the wireless        telecommunications network in accordance with the first quality        of service; and    -   the controller is configured to control a second one of the one        or more network nodes to establish one of a second set of radio        connection states with the terminal device, each radio        connection state of the second set of radio connection states        defining a mode of the second communications service comprising        one or more of transmitting data to the terminal device,        receiving data from the terminal device or managing an        attachment of the terminal device to the wireless        telecommunications network in accordance with the second quality        of service;    -   wherein the controller is configured to control the first        network node to establish the radio connection state of the        first communications service independently of the establishment        of the radio connection state of the second communications        service by the second network node.

25. A wireless telecommunications network according to clause 24,wherein

-   -   each radio connection state in the first set of radio connection        states is associated with one or more of a radio resource        control (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception (DRX)        parameters, a terminal device mobility handling arrangement, and        a control signalling procedure for one or more of establishing a        radio connection with the terminal device, exchanging data with        the terminal device and handling a transition to a different        radio connection state, in accordance with the first quality of        service; and    -   each radio connection state in the second set of radio        connection states is associated with one or more of a radio        resource control (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception        (DRX) parameters, a terminal device mobility handling        arrangement, and a control signalling procedure for one or more        of establishing a radio connection with the terminal device,        exchanging data with the terminal device and handling a        transition to a different radio connection state, in accordance        with the second quality of service.

26. A wireless telecommunications network according to clause 25,wherein each radio correction state in the first and second sets ofradio connection states is one of:

-   -   a connected radio connection state in which a radio resource        control (RRC) connection is established with the terminal device        and the terminal device mobility handling arrangement comprises        using a network node handover operation carried out by the        wireless telecommunications network;    -   an idle radio connection state in which no RRC connection is        established with the terminal device and the terminal device        mobility handling arrangement comprises using a network node        reselection operation; or    -   a semi-connected radio connection state in which a RRC        connection is established with the terminal device and the        terminal device mobility handling arrangement comprises using a        network node reselection operation.

27. A wireless telecommunications network according to clause 26,wherein the network node reselection operation of one or more of theidle radio connection state and semi-connected radio connection state iscarried out by the terminal device.

28. A wireless telecommunications network according to clause 26,wherein the controller is configured to control the one or more networknodes to receive a beacon signal from the terminal device, and thecontroller is configured to perform the network node reselectionoperation of one or more of the idle radio connection state andsemi-connected radio connection state in accordance with a measuredcharacteristic of the beacon signal indicative of radio channelconditions between the terminal device and the one or more networknodes.

29. A wireless telecommunications network according to any one ofclauses 26 to 28, wherein each of the first and second sets of radioconnection states comprises one of a connected radio connection stateand a semi-connected radio connection state, and the controller isconfigured to control the one or more network nodes to establish acommon control plane with the terminal device for controlling both theone of the connected or semi-connected radio connection state of thefirst set of radio connection states and the one of the connected orsemi-connected radio connection state of the second set of radioconnection states.

30. A wireless telecommunications network according to any one ofclauses 26 to 29, wherein, when an idle radio connection state isestablished as the one of the first or second sets of radio connectionstates, the controller is configured to control the one or more networknodes to receive data from the wireless telecommunications network inthe idle radio connection state without establishing an RRC connection.

31. A wireless telecommunications network according to any one ofclauses 25 to 30, wherein

-   -   one or more of the radio connection states in the first set of        radio connection states is associated with a first set of DRX        parameters in accordance with the first quality of service;    -   one or more of the radio connection states in the second set of        radio connection states is associated with a second set of DRX        parameters in accordance with the second quality of service; and    -   the controller is operate to control the one or more network        nodes to operate, in combination with the controller, using the        one of the first and second sets of DRX parameters associated        with the shortest DRX cycle duration.

32. A wireless telecommunications network according to any one ofclauses 24 to 31, wherein the controller is configured to control theone or more network nodes to exchange data with the terminal deviceusing the first communications service using a first portion of networkresources associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and toexchange data with the terminal device using the second communicationsservice using a second portion of network resources associated with asecond radio access technology (RAT).

33. A terminal device according to clause 32, wherein the networkresources in the first portion comprise one or more of a network nodeand a network slice associated with the first RAT and the networkresources in the second portion comprise one or more of a network nodeand a network slice associated with the second RAT.

34. A wireless telecommunications network according to clause 32 or 33,wherein the first RAT is different to the second RAT.

35. A method of operating a terminal device for use with a wirelesstelecommunications network, the method comprising:

-   -   controlling a transceiver of the terminal device to exchange        data with the wireless telecommunications network using one of a        first communications service and a second communications        service, the first communications service being associated with        a first quality of service for exchanging data and the second        communications service being associated with a second quality of        service for exchanging data; wherein    -   the transceiver is controlled to establish one of a first set of        radio connection states with the wireless telecommunications        network, each radio connection state of the first set of radio        connection states defining a mode of the first communications        service comprising one or more of transmitting data to,        receiving data from or managing an attachment of the terminal        device to the wireless telecommunications network in accordance        with the first quality of service; and    -   the transceiver is controlled to establish one of a second set        of radio connection states with the wireless telecommunications        network, each radio connection state of the second set of radio        connection states defining a mode of the second communications        service comprising one or more of transmitting data to,        receiving data from or managing an attachment of the terminal        device to the wireless telecommunications network in accordance        with the second quality of service;    -   wherein the transceiver is controlled to establish the radio        connection state of the first communications service        independently of the radio connection state of the second        communications service.

36. A method of operating infrastructure equipment for use with awireless telecommunications network, the method comprising:

-   -   controlling a transceiver of the infrastructure equipment to        exchange data with a terminal device of the wireless        telecommunications network using one of a first communications        service and a second communications service, the first        communications service being associated with a first quality of        service for exchanging data and the second communications        service being associated with a second quality of service for        exchanging data; wherein    -   the transceiver is controlled to establish one of a first set of        radio connection states with the terminal device, each radio        connection state of the first set of radio connection states        defining a mode of the first communications service comprising        one or more of transmitting data to the terminal device,        receiving data from the terminal device or managing an        attachment of the terminal device to the wireless        telecommunications network in accordance with the first quality        of service; and    -   the transceiver is controlled to establish one of a second set        of radio connection states with the terminal device, each radio        connection state of the second set of radio connection states        defining a mode of the second communications service comprising        one or more of transmitting data to the terminal device,        receiving data from the terminal device or managing an        attachment of the terminal device to the wireless        telecommunications network in accordance with the second quality        of service;    -   wherein the transceiver is controlled to establish the radio        connection state of the first communications service        independently of the radio connection state of the second        communications service.

37. A method of operating a wireless telecommunications network aterminal device and a plurality of network nodes each configured toexchange data with the terminal device, the method comprising:

-   -   controlling one or more of the network nodes to exchange data        with the terminal device using one of a first communications        service and a second communications service, the first        communications service being associated with a first quality of        service for exchanging data and the second communications        service being associated with a second quality of service for        exchanging data; wherein    -   a first one of the one or more network nodes is controlled to        establish one of a first set of radio connection states with the        terminal device, each radio connection state of the first set of        radio connection states defining a mode of the first        communications service comprising one or more of transmitting        data to the terminal device, receiving data from the terminal        device or managing an attachment of the terminal device to the        wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the first        quality of service; and    -   a second one of the one or more network nodes is controlled to        establish one of a second set of radio connection states with        the terminal device, each radio connection state of the second        set of radio connection states defining a mode of the second        communications service comprising one or more of transmitting        data to the terminal device, receiving data from the terminal        device or managing an attachment of the terminal device to the        wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the        second quality of service;    -   wherein the first network node is controlled to establish the        radio connection state of the first communications service        independently of the establishment of the radio connection state        of the second communications service by the second network node.

38. Integrated circuitry for a terminal device for use with a wirelesstelecommunications network, the integrated circuitry comprising:

-   -   a transceiver element; and    -   a controller element configured to control the transceiver        element to exchange data with the wireless telecommunications        network using one of a first communications service and a second        communications service, the first communications service being        associated with a first quality of service for exchanging data        and the second communications service being associated with a        second quality of service for exchanging data; wherein    -   the controller element is configured to control the transceiver        element to establish one of a first set of radio connection        states with the wireless telecommunications network, each radio        connection state of the first set of radio connection states        defining a mode of the first communications service comprising        one or more of transmitting data to, receiving data from or        managing an attachment of the terminal device to the wireless        telecommunications network in accordance with the first quality        of service; and    -   the controller element is configured to control the transceiver        element to establish one of a second set of radio connection        states with the wireless telecommunications network each radio        connection state of the second set of radio connection states        defining a mode of the second communications service comprising        one or more of transmitting data to, receiving data from or        managing an attachment of the terminal device to the wireless        telecommunications network in accordance with the second quality        of service;    -   wherein the controller element is configured to control the        transceiver element to establish the radio connection state of        the first communications service independently of the radio        connection state of the second communications service.

39. Integrated circuitry for infrastructure equipment for use with awireless telecommunications network, the integrated circuitrycomprising:

-   -   a transceiver element; and    -   a controller element configured to control the transceiver        element to exchange data with a terminal device of the wireless        telecommunications network using one of a first communications        service and a second communications service, the first        communications service being associated with a first quality of        service for exchanging data and the second communications        service being associated with a second quality of service for        exchanging data; wherein    -   the controller element is configured to control the transceiver        element to establish one of a first set of radio connection        states with the terminal device, each radio connection state of        the first set of radio connection states defining a mode of the        first communications service comprising one or more of        transmitting data to the terminal device, receiving data from        the terminal device or managing an attachment of the terminal        device to the wireless telecommunications network in accordance        with the first quality of service; and    -   the controller element is configured to control the transceiver        element to establish one of a second set of radio connection        states with the terminal device, each radio connection state of        the second set of radio connection states defining a mode of the        second communications service comprising one or more of        transmitting data to the terminal device, receiving data from        the terminal device or managing an attachment of the terminal        device to the wireless telecommunications network in accordance        with the second quality of service;        wherein the controller element is configured to control the        transceiver element to establish the radio connection state of        the first communications service independently of the radio        connection state of the second communications service.

Numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure arepossible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosuremay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

In so far as embodiments of the disclosure have been described as beingimplemented, at least in part, by software-controlled data processingapparatus, it will be appreciated that a non-transitory machine-readablemedium carrying such software, such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk,semiconductor memory or the like, is also considered to represent anembodiment of the present disclosure.

It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity hasdescribed embodiments with reference to different functional units,circuitry and/or processors. However, it will be apparent that anysuitable distribution of functionality between different functionalunits, circuitry anchor processors may be used without detracting fromthe embodiments.

Described embodiments may be implemented in any suitable form includinghardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. Describedembodiments may optionally be implemented at least partly as computersoftware naming on one or more data processors and/or digital signalprocessors. The elements and components of any embodiment may bephysically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way.Indeed the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in aplurality of units or as part of other functional units. As such, thedisclosed embodiments may be implemented in a single unit or may bephysically and functionally distributed between different units,circuitry and/or processors.

Although the present disclosure has been described in connection withsome embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific formset forth herein. Additionally, although a feature may appear to bedescribed in connection with particular embodiments, one skilled in theart would recognize that various features of the described embodimentsmay be combined in any manner suitable to implement the technique.

REFERENCES

-   [1] 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #71 (Göteborg, Sweden, 7-10 March 2016)    RP-160540 “Signalling reduction to enable light connection for LTE”-   [2] 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #71 (Göteborg, Sweden. 7-10 March 2016)    RP-160671 “Study on NR New Radio Access Technology”-   [3] Holma H. and Toskala A, “LTE for UNITS OFDMA and SC-FDMA based    radio access”, John Wiley and Sons, 2009-   [4] Ericsson White Paper Uen 284 23-3244 January 2015 “5G Systems:    Enabling Industry and Society Transformation”    http://www.ericsson.com/res/docs/whitepapers/what-is-a-5g-system.pdf

1. A terminal device for use with a wireless telecommunications network,the terminal device comprising: a transceiver; and a controllerconfigured to control the transceiver to exchange data with the wirelesstelecommunications network using one of a first communications serviceand a second communications service, the first communications servicebeing associated with a first quality of service for exchanging data,and the second communications service being associated with a secondquality of service for exchanging data; wherein the controller isconfigured to control the transceiver to establish one of a first set ofradio connection states with the wireless telecommunications network,each radio connection state of the first set of radio connection statesdefining a mode of the first communications service comprising one ormore of transmitting data to, receiving data from or managing anattachment of the terminal device to the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork in accordance with the first quality of service; and thecontroller is configured to control the transceiver to establish one ofa second set of radio connection states with the wirelesstelecommunications network, each radio connection state of the secondset of radio connection states defining a mode of the secondcommunications service comprising one or more of transmitting data to,receiving data from or managing an attachment of the terminal device tothe wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the secondquality of service; wherein the controller is configured to control thetransceiver to establish the radio connection state of the firstcommunications service independently of the radio connection state ofthe second communications service.
 2. A terminal device according toclaim 1, wherein each radio connection state in the first set of radioconnection states is associated with one or more of a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters,a terminal device mobility handling arrangement, and a controlsignalling procedure for one or more of establishing a radio connectionwith the wireless telecommunications network, exchanging data with thewireless telecommunications network and handling a transition to adifferent radio connection state, in accordance with the first qualityof service; and each radio connection state in the second set of radioconnection states is associated with one or more of a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters,a terminal device mobility handling arrangement, and a controlsignalling procedure for one or more of establishing a radio connectionwith the wireless telecommunications network, exchanging data with thewireless telecommunications network and handling a transition to adifferent radio connection state, in accordance with the second qualityof service
 3. A terminal device according to claim 2, wherein each radioconnection state in the first and second sets of radio connection statesis one of: a connected radio connection state in which a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) connection is established with the wirelesstelecommunications network and the terminal device mobility handlingarrangement comprises using a network node handover operation carriedout by the wireless telecommunications network; an idle radio connectionstate in which no RRC connection is established with the wirelesstelecommunications network and the terminal device mobility handlingarrangement comprises using a network node reselection operation; or asemi-connected radio connection state in which a RRC connection isestablished with the wireless telecommunications network and theterminal device mobility handling arrangement comprises using a networknode reselection operation.
 4. A terminal device according to claim 3,wherein the network node reselection operation of one or more of theidle radio connection state and semi-connected radio connection state iscarried out by the controller.
 5. A terminal device according to claim3, wherein the controller is configured to control the transceiver totransmit a beacon signal to the wireless telecommunications network, andthe wireless telecommunications network is configured to perform thenetwork node reselection operation of one or more of the idle radioconnection state and semi-connected radio connection state in accordancewith a measured characteristic of the beacon signal indicative of radiochannel conditions between the terminal device and one or more networknodes of the wireless telecommunications network.
 6. A terminal deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein each of the first and second sets of radioconnection states comprises one of a connected radio connection stateand a semi-connected radio connection state, and the controller isconfigured to control the transceiver to establish a common controlplane with the wireless telecommunications network for controlling boththe one of the connected or semi-connected radio connection state of thefirst set of radio connection states and the one of the connected orsemi-connected radio connection state of the second set of radioconnection states.
 7. A terminal device according to claim 3, whereinthe first set of radio connection states comprises a connected radioconnection state and the second set of radio connection states comprisesone of a semi-connected or idle radio connection state, wherein thecontroller is configured to select, as a serving network node for theone of the semi-connected or idle radio connection state of the secondset of radio connection states, the serving network node of theconnected radio connection state of the first set of radio connectionstates.
 8. A terminal device according to claim 3, wherein, when an idleradio connection state is established as the one of the first or secondsets of radio connection states, the controller is configured to controlthe transceiver to transmit data to the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork in the idle radio connection state without establishing an RRCconnection.
 9. A terminal device according to claim 2, wherein one ormore of the radio connection states in the first set of radio connectionstates is associated with a first set of DRX parameters in accordancewith the first quality of service; one or more of the radio connectionstates in the second set of radio connection states is associated with asecond set of DRX parameters in accordance with the second quality ofservice; and the controller is operate to control the transceiver tooperate, in combination with the controller, using the one of the firstand second sets of DRX parameters associated with the shortest DRX cycleduration.
 10. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to control the transceiver to exchange datawith the wireless telecommunications network using the firstcommunications service using a first portion of network resourcesassociated with a first radio access technology (RAT) and to exchangedata with the wireless telecommunications network using the secondcommunications service using a second portion of network resourcesassociated with a second radio access technology (RAT).
 11. A terminaldevice according to claim 10, wherein the network resources in the firstportion comprise one or more of a network node and a network sliceassociated with the first RAT and the network resources in the secondportion comprise one or more of a network node and a network sliceassociated with the second RAT.
 12. A terminal device according to claim10, wherein the first RAT is different to the second RAT. 13.Infrastructure equipment for use with a wireless telecommunicationsnetwork, the infrastructure equipment comprising: a transceiver; and acontroller configured to control the transceiver to exchange data with aterminal device of the wireless telecommunications network using one ofa first communications service and a second communications service, thefirst communications service being associated with a first quality ofservice for exchanging data and the second communications service beingassociated with a second quality of service for exchanging data; whereinthe controller is configured to control the transceiver to establish oneof a first set a radio connection states with the terminal device, eachradio connection state of the first set of radio connection statesdefining a mode of the first communications service comprising one ormore of transmitting data to the terminal device, receiving data fromthe terminal device or managing an attachment of the terminal device tothe wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the firstquality of service; and the controller is configured to control thetransceiver to establish one of a second set of radio connection stateswith the terminal device, each radio connection state of the second setof radio connection states defining a mode of the second communicationsservice comprising one or more of transmitting data to the terminaldevice, receiving data from the terminal device or managing anattachment of the terminal device to the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork in accordance with the second quality of service; wherein thecontroller is configured to control the transceiver to establish theradio connection state of the first communications service independentlyof the radio connection state of the second communications service. 14.Infrastructure equipment according to claim 13, wherein each radioconnection state in the first set of radio connection states isassociated with one or more of a radio resource control (RRC) state, aset of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters, a terminal devicemobility handling arrangement, and a control signalling procedure forone or more of establishing a radio connection with the terminal device,exchanging data with the terminal device and handling a transition to adifferent radio connection state, in accordance with the first qualityof service; and each radio connection state in the second set of radioconnection states is associated with one or more of a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) state, a set of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters,a terminal device mobility handling arrangement, and a controlsignalling procedure for one or more of establishing a radio connectionwith the terminal device, exchanging data with the terminal device andhandling a transition to a different radio connection state, inaccordance with the second quality of service
 15. Infrastructureequipment according to claim 14, wherein each radio connection state inthe first and second sets of radio connection states is one of: aconnected radio connection state in which a radio resource control (RRC)connection is established with the terminal device and the terminaldevice mobility handling arrangement comprises using a network nodehandover operation carried out by the wireless telecommunicationsnetwork; an idle radio connection state in which no RRC connection isestablished with the terminal device and the terminal device mobilityhandling arrangement comprises using a network node reselectionoperation; or a semi-connected radio connection state in which a RRCconnection is established with the terminal device and the terminaldevice mobility handling arrangement comprises using a network nodereselection operation.
 16. Infrastructure equipment according to claim15, wherein the network node reselection operation of one or more of theidle radio connection state and semi-connected radio connection state iscarried out by the terminal device.
 17. Infrastructure equipmentaccording to claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to controlthe transceiver to receive a beacon signal from the terminal device, andthe controller is configured to perform the network node reselectionoperation of one or more of the idle radio connection state andsemi-connected radio connection state in accordance with a measuredcharacteristic of the beacon signal indicative of radio channelconditions between the terminal device and the infrastructure equipment.18. Infrastructure equipment according to claim 15, wherein each of thefirst and second sets of radio connection states comprises one of aconnected radio connection state and a semi-connected radio connectionstate, and the controller is configured to control the transceiverstablish a common control plane with the terminal device for controllingboth the one of the connected or semi-connected radio connection stateof the first set of radio connection states and the one of the connectedor semi-connected radio connection state of the second set of radioconnection states.
 19. Infrastructure equipment according to claim 15,wherein, when an idle radio connection state is established as the oneof the first or second sets of radio connection states, the controlleris configured to control the transceiver to receive data from thewireless telecommunications network in the idle radio connection statewithout establishing an RRC connection. 20-34. (canceled)
 35. A methodof operating a terminal device for use with a wirelesstelecommunications network, the method comprising: controlling atransceiver of the terminal device to exchange data with the wirelesstelecommunications network using one of a first communications serviceand a second communications service, the first communications servicebeing associated with a first quality of service for exchanging data,and the second communications service being associated with a secondquality of service for exchanging data; wherein the transceiver iscontrolled to establish one of a first set of radio connection stateswith the wireless telecommunications network, each radio connectionstate of the first set of radio connection states defining a mode of thefirst communications service comprising one or more of transmitting datato, receiving data from or managing an attachment of the terminal deviceto the wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the firstquality of service; and the transceiver is controlled to establish oneof a second set of radio connection states with the wirelesstelecommunications network, each radio connection state of the secondset of radio connection states defining a mode of the secondcommunications service comprising one or more of transmitting data to,receiving data from or managing an attachment of the terminal device tothe wireless telecommunications network in accordance with the secondquality of service; wherein the transceiver is controlled to establishthe radio connection state of the first communications serviceindependently of the radio connection state of the second communicationsservice. 36-39. (canceled)